Here we are on our final day of the journey, just six hours from our flight's departure. My, how time flies. Of course, it does seem like we've been here for weeks. I must say I'm really going to miss the steamless shower. Angie and I just went to take a spin on the cable cars because my dad almost had a seizure when I told him we were going to bypass that part of the city (who needs cable cars when you have two functioning legs?) We put forth a valiant effort (walking to the station), but the line was stupid long so we decided to skip it. We did do some shopping at Gap and American Eagle, since we don't have THOSE in Minnesota (yeah, right, uh huh) and then had some hot chocolate at Starbucks. It was baby Angie's first Starbucks experience, so congratulations to her.

Yesterday was Redwoods and Giants day for us, but only after we ate lunch at Luce in the hotel. I had seafood something or other in lobster broth and it was simply delightful. However, when we went back to our room, our keys weren't working. I went to the front desk to get new keys and those also didn't work when we tried them. A kind Asian housekeeper on our floor tried to assist us, but declared the obvious - "It's not working" - after several attempts. Oddly enough, it started working two minutes later. Sort it out, Intercon.

I was pretty certain the Redwoods/Sausalito bus wasn't going to pick us up because I probably told the tour company the wrong hotel address, but they made it to us anyway. We climbed aboard and were brought down to Fisherman's Wharf to be processed. By the time we went to board the tour bus, it was full and the tour director was asking folks to give up their tickets and come back the next day for half the price. Those poor people got screwed because it was such a gorgeous day yesterday and it looks like today isn't going to be quite so beautiful.

The Redwoods are in a lush green canyon, a lot like I imagine Ireland looks. The road up the hill and down the canyon is steep and very turny. Slightly hungover Neej didn't do well with the bus ride. However, once we made it to the Redwoods, we were all thankful to have gone. I wish pictures could do the beauty justice, but they simple can't. I made Ang take a video for Fahj. Sadly, we were only allowed about an hour in the trees and we had to get back on the bus to go back to Sausalito or, as the four in our party did, sleep. We didn't feel like exploring Sausalito, probably because all the touristing was catching up with us, so we decided to have some ice cream and head back to the bus. We were lucky it was such a clear, sunny day because the bus driver took us to a bonus spot not included on the tour with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Gid job, tour guy whose wife is from Minnetonka! He also returned us to our hotel after the tour, so he's a-okay by me.

Right after we were dropped off at the hotel, we hailed a cab to bring us to the ballpark to see the Giants play the Cubs. The stadium is gorgeous and laid out so well and it made me super excited for outdoor baseball in Minnesota. The wind off the bay made it a little chilly, which is probably indicative of what Twins baseball really will be like in April and May 2010. We left the game a little early to try to hail a taxi back to the hotel, but when that proved unsuccessful we started walking. Xtuna's sexy directional skills made us back safe and sound.

Soon, this trip will be the ended, but I still have four more days off to spend the 4th in Tower. It's like a vacation that just keeps giving. I could get used to this.

So let's talk about yesterday, shall we? Yesterday was our tour day, so I decided it would be the best day to wear a dress. SPOILER ALERT. Today I have a HALTER BURN (first/last ever) and the burn though my necklace looks like titties on my chest (above the actual titty part). There's no point in even reading on now that I've shared that.

I'll continue anyway.

Angie showered me with the coolest gifts ever when I got out of one of the best showers ever. Monkey and palm tree salt and pepper shakers? A wooden horse to be painted? Bacon bandaids? Crazy cat lady figurine? AMAZING. I love her. Angie, not the cat lady. I am the cat lady. At least I will be soon. I guess she's amazing too. Oh yes I did.

We set our alarms nice and early to be awake and ready in time for the Super Sightseeing bus to pick us up at 8:50. We got to sit through all the hotel pickups and it was fun to see the city a little bit without having to walk it, and then we made it to the Super Sightseeing office to be "processed". After being processed, we climbed on the the short bus and found we were the last ones to get on board. We weren't there long, however, because the little bitch wouldn't start. Richmond the bald guy didn't believe John the driver and once he did, he did the sign of the cross and presumably said a little prayer for the broken down short bus. I don't know what happened to the short bus, but we got off and went on to a bigger, more comfortable bus, so I don't really care. We were running behind on the tour, so I'm pretty sure the part that got cut out was Danny Tanner's house. Dis. Appointing.

The tour showed us a lot of stuff we couldn't walk to: the Golden Gate Park, the Golden Gate Bridge, Twin Peaks, the Sears & Roebuck $10K pre-fab houses, and a lot of other stuff I already can't remember. We did learn that Coit Tower is actually named after a person and not a carpet-cleaning company. Also, it looks like a fire hose nozzle because the gal that willed the money for the tower had a little firefighter obsession. Can't say I blame her.

After the tour, which was way more comprehensive than I can recall, we grabbed a quick sammich and took a quick piss and got in line for the Alcatraz ferry. Alcatraz was incredible and far exceeded my expectations. The audio tour was unbelievable. So good, it was crazy. I also really liked the suspended seagull that couldn't fly because of the wind. Looked just like a darn kite. I bought three books about Alcatraz because I love books and there was a former prisoner there signing his book, so I got it signed. Talk about Mr. Personality. NOT.

Next, we hopped the ferry back to the city and this very well may have been there this beautiful red tan came from. When we were back city-side, we searched and searched for a cab back to the hotel and finally Xtina found one in an intersection we were walking through. When we got back to the hote, we beautified for dinner at Annabelle's Bar and Bistro. I had a deelishis $70 meal ($70 for just me, not all of us) and was able to down a 16-ounce ribeye, a twice baked potato, cauliflower, two beers and a full dessert singlehandedly. Happy birthday to me!

After dinner, we went to the Marriott bar, which I didn't know was the Marriott bar otherwise we wouldn't have been there, to have a pitcher of beer, enjoy the rockin' 90s music and chat up a Mississippi fella. When we realized it sucked, we moved on to the hotel bar for a couple of drinks, embraced our buzzes, and then went to sleep. All in all, it was a damn good birthday and I don't figure I could have made it even a little bit better. Oh! And I forgot to mention there was sunshine almost all day (excluding when we took pictures of the GGB), which may have been obvious by the sunburn bitching. Also, gas here is $4.55 a gallon, though I've seen it as high as $4.79 for regular. Ridiculous.

On the docket today is a bus tour to the Redwoods and over to Sausalito, which I hear is just adorable. Later, maybe a Giants game. Can't wait!

So busy. Can't update. Well, I can now because we have an open morning. Ma-holla! Let's see if I can remember everything that should be remembered.

Our most important order of business Sunday was switching hotels from the Holiday Inn Golden Gateway to the Intercontinental which is, I have learned, at 888 Howard Street, not 600 Howard Street. It was a pretty relaxed morning, but a person can only sleep in so much when four people are in one room, you're sharing a bed and the neighbors are stupid loud.

We decided to move hotels smack during the Pride parade which, yeah, maybe wasn't the best idea because roads were blocked off. We ended up with the funniest little Chinese cab driver. We have truly had a hell of a streak of cabbies. Hilarious. At one point, Angie leaned over and asked me if I felt like I was in Meet the Parents, and then the giggles started. His foot was equally lead-filled on both the gas and the brake and we only made it a block at a time because of all the lights and Pride traffic. Tears were rolling down my and Angie's faces and he looked back and said, "No scared!" People drive batshit crazy here.

We tried to check in to the new hotel early, but there was only one room clean and available so we came up to check it out and drop off our luggage. Angie and I claimed the room we went to and we all found the room to be gorgeous. I knew the hotel was newish, but wasn't aware it just opened on the last day of February. We are on the 29th floor and at this point I think we might be the only ones on the floor. It was been a wonderful, wonderful stay at the Intercon. This hotel is a beau-ful star.

Xtina and Nij had some sailing to do on the Adventure Cat (meow) so we hopped a cab to Pier 33 so they could catch their kitty. We ended up with an adorable Pakistani cabbie with conservative political views who was shocked by the "sudden attack" of the man wearing nothing but a thong riding a bike. I thought it was hot, so whatever. BUT, the craziest part about this cab driver is his neighbors are from Grand Rapids. Weird, huh? THEN, he told us his neighbors just bought property in Tower. Seriously. We didn't mention we were from there. AND THEN! I learned they purchased the land from my sister-in-law's family. The coincidence nearly made us shit ourselves.

We caught some lunch at Hard Rock Cafe, where I thought a bacon cheeseburger would be a good idea. It wasn't. Afterwards, when the gals went to board, Tuna and I made the trek up to Coit Tower. After Russian Hill, I wasn't sure I would be able to make it up to Coit, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. We got a little turned around on the way, but finally made it to the top of the hill. The views were fabulous and the weather was great and as I took 46 pictures of Oakland, Angie and Christina were freezing their tits off on their sailboat. Coit wasn't all fun and games though. The elevator up was terrifying.

Post-Coit, we headed on down the dirty bitch that is Lombard to Grant so we could cruise through Chinatown on the walk home. A friendly fellow at a market and liquor store told us to go down Stockton instead and we were thoroughly confused by the crossing of Green and Stockton. However, common sense and Tuna said, "Hey, maybe we should go down the street with all the Asians." There's a reason we invited her to this on this trip.

When we got back to the hotel, we checked out Yerba Buena Gardens, which is less than a block away from where we are staying. We are 98% certain there was a garden of flowers on the corner of 4th and Howard when we left, but there was a pretty permanent-looking carousel there when we returned. We just didn't get it. After Good Herb Gardens, it was time to retreat to the hotel, rest our weary feet, and wait for Xtina and Nij to return. We found it a good time to make phone calls and while I called my dad, Tune called Jose and talked to him for 16 minutes and 54 seconds. That's a whole lot of broken English. Turns out Jose have three baby. They're not in the cities (or probably the states), though, so they don't count.

There was much unwinding and taffy consumption and chatting when the girls made it back. Eight o'clock rolled around and we decided it was shit-or-get-off-the-pot time for dinner. Our decision was made by the Buca di Beppo across the street from the hote. We waited a half hour (at 8:30! These people are nuts!) for our table, then were escorted to the basement with a creepy kitten tapestry and even creepier angels where our adorable Italian server, Stefan, tried to explain the menu to us. I was so tired and so full by the end of the meal, which was delicious, but I would have stayed there all night, just hoping that adorable server to come back and smile.

This is kind of dumb, but I'm going to post this bitch and start a new one for yesterday. Step off. I have a lot to share.